Nigeria Gets Its Act Together: Green Climate Fund Access Just Got Real
By: Abudu Olalekan
Kano felt a little busier than usual that first week of December 2025. December 2, to be exact. People trickled into a downtown conference hall before 9am. Not just government suits. Elders in crisp baban riga, sent by their emirates to weigh in. Youth activists with faded backpacks, scribbling notes before the room even filled. Civil society folks who’d been pushing for clearer climate finance rules for years. This wasn’t just another workshop. It was the one that would lock in how Nigeria gets access to Green Climate Fund resources.
By the end of day two—December 3—Natural Eco Capital had the news to share. The No-Objection Procedure (NOP) Manual they’d drafted with Dr. Eugene Itua and his team? It got validated. Finally.
The workshop was convened by the National Council on Climate Change (NCCC). Benny Ejiofor stood in for NCCC’s DG Teni Majekodunmi that first morning. He didn’t beat around the bush. “This manual is our gateway to GCF,” he said. “No shortcuts. No guesswork. Just clear steps to meet international fiduciary and social safeguards.”
Kano’s Environment and Climate Change Commissioner, Dr. Dahiru Muhammad Hashim, was glad the meeting was in his state. He spent ten minutes walking the room through Kano’s progress: a state climate finance platform built with help from the PACE-FCDO programme, early steps on local climate adaptation projects. “We ain’t waiting for Abuja to move,” he said, grinning. “Kano’s already testing what works.”
Abubakar Ahmed spoke for NIRSAL’s CEO Babajide Arowosafe later that day. He kept it practical. “You can have the best ideas in the world for climate-smart farming or rural road upgrades,” he said. “But if your proposal don’t fit this manual? It won’t get funded. We need this framework to make our projects bankable and compliant.”
The room didn’t just rubber-stamp the manual. They picked at it, gently but firm.
They agreed it aligns well with Nigeria’s NDC 3.0 and LT-LEDS—but noted the GHG reduction estimates need sharper mapping and more concrete numbers. They signed off on the 80-day review cycle for standard projects, 100 days for high-risk ones, and the new digital submission portal. The 100-point scoring matrix and “Fatal Flaw Clause” to uphold environmental and social safeguards? No arguments there.
But they had clear asks too. Tie the manual’s actions tighter to national climate targets. Make grievance redress mechanisms easier to access for women, youth, and persons with disabilities. Train stakeholders not just in state capitals, but down to the LGA level, to make sure everyone understands the process. Help direct access entities build better sustainability reporting and risk management plans. And check the manual every two years, to keep it from getting stale.
By the closing remarks, the room was quiet again. But not the tired quiet of a long workshop. The quiet of people who just made something real.
The manual ain’t perfect. But it’s a solid start. It’s the bridge between Nigeria’s climate plans and the money to make them happen. Investors get clarity. Partners get predictability. Communities get a seat at the table.
